Thursday, May 2, 2013

For the love of Feluda , Gupi-Bagha & Shonku.

It's Satyajit Ray's 92nd birth anniversary today. Growing up with the characters mentioned in the title is the way of life of every bong child. Passing the pearls through generations is our duty as well as our pride , what I believe is so much that just being mine.

My first tryst with Satyajit Ray's genius came when on a fine afternoon (it was Children's Day I think) , a 9-yr old me was encouraged by my folks to watch a movie called 'Shonaar Kella' which was being aired on a national channel. I was always a fan of movies, so it wasn't a difficult task for me to obey. And I thank them, for this connection with Feluda became a vital part of my childhood , a connection that I cannot let go even when I am about to start my career in a few months.

Shonaar Kella blew my senses away. It immortalized the Golden Fort of Jaisalmer - the world now identifies the fort as Shonaar Kella- as the name was suggested by the child in the movie who had visions of his past life- a kick-ass tale of reincarnation, sleuth and thrill. For that is the power of Ray's imagination, that even to this day, that movie, made in the '70s, would engross any avid movie-goer till its end-credits. My love and admiration for 'Feluda' would live on from that day onward. I have seen all the Feluda movies made till date (the latest one came out on 2012) , have read almost all the stories (I treasure a hard-bound two-volume set of Feluda stories in Bengali) and have imagined myself in his shoes, n number of times.

My passion for Satyajit Ray's works does not end there. There's Gupi Gayne Bagha Bayne[movie version- 1968], the magical duo and their adventures - the three wishes that they were granted by the King of Ghosts aka "Bhooter Raja" ( 1. they could go anywhere in a blink of an eye, 2. they could eat whatever they wanted, 3. they could sing songs that would really hypnotize the listeners and make them speechless & motionless) would make amazing stories. Hirok Raja'r Deshe[1980] remains my personal favorite-the one where an evil king Hirok rules over his kingdom with unfair means (he would use a 'mogojh-dholai' aka 'brainwashing' device to make people sired by his ideals- and how our magical duo saved the people from the atrocities of the evil King Hirok. Then there's Professor Shonku- the scientist and his sci-fi adventures that would make us imagine to the limits that one ceases to imagine! Awesomeness.

To the world, Satyajit Ray is that genius film-maker from India who gave film-making a true revolution. To the non-bongs, he is a prolific persona from Bengal who made timeless classics, won a huge bunch of National Awards, and the Oscar (for lifetime achievement and contribution to cinema). But to a bong, he is the master story-teller, whose legacy lived the life that every child dreams of living. I take pride to know him that way.

5 comments:

Ah! How i love these movies.I haven't got a chance to watch Feluda but all the others are just superb.My favorite amongst these is Gupi Gayne Bagha Bayne.I was feeling so proud when i saw google celebrate satyajit rays birthday :)Jotobar daekho toto hi kom.